Executive Oasis International, Toronto - Team Building

03/12/2025

📉 Connecting the Dot: Economist & Bloomberg columnist Mohamed El-Eriam addresses wait-and-see approach by corporate leaders and predicts 25%-30% chance of recession in USA 🇺🇸

At the beginning of the year, he projected probability of U.S. recession at 10%.

When corporate leaders and decision makers face uncertainty, the risk of making a decision seems too high.

It can result in freezing and adopting a wait and see approach to mitigate risk instead of taking decisive action.

While await and see approach is understandable, it only exacerbates an already bad situation.

The fallout for local and global economies is of nuclear proportions.

Instead of hitting the brakes on spending and delaying decisions, it's important for corporate leaders to focus on what they can control.

During times of economic turbulence and uncertainty a shared team toolkit can help bring clarity to charge your course forward.

It can help with analysis, decision making, course correction, and planning.

Suggested tools include:

💡 idea chains for brainstorming
⚽️ force field analysis for risk assessment
🌳 decision trees
⚖️ sensitivity analysis
⏹️ SWOR analysis
◻️ SWOT analysis
🎬 storyboards

🧰 Does your business have a team toolkit?

Mohamed El-Erian, president of Queens’ College, Cambridge and a Bloomberg Opinion columnist, says the chance of a US recession is now at 25%-30%. El-Erian ha...

03/04/2025

Connecting the Dots: The US/ Canada trade war is here. Now what?

"Canada’s most important economic relationship is facing the situation we’ve spent lots of time anticipating: we are effectively in a trade war.

In response to Trump’s punishing levies, Ottawa said they would retaliate with tariffs of their own. Countertariffs took effect at the same time as U.S. tariffs.

U.S. and Canadian stocks fell sharply Monday after Trump confirmed tariffs were moving ahead. The S&P 500 index ended down 1.8 per cent while the Nasdaq Composite was down 2.6 per cent – their worst day of 2025 so far. The Canadian dollar also dropped on Trump’s comments, losing about half a cent to end the day below 69 U.S. cents."

Source: The Globe and Mail

The U.S. President is determined to play chicken with the North American and, in fact, the global economy.

The stakes are high.

It's a dangerous game that's not going to end well.

If you or your business adopted a wait and see attitude...

🛑

The time for an action is long over.

Businesses:

Gather your leadership team together.

Do some serious brainstorming to figure out options to reroute your supply chain.

Specifically, look to Europe, Asia, the Middle East, the Caribbean, Latin America, and Africa.

Identify new sources of business.

Brief your sales team and ensure they have the training and tools to hit the ground running.

Educate consumers.

Shoppers in Canada are looking for Canadian products.

If your products are Canadian, be sure your POS makes this clear.

Consumers:

Buy Canadian.

When Canadian is not available, purchase as much as you can from the uk, the europe, asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America.

Fortunately, Canadian retailers are now placing a Canadian flags on their shelves to identify and domestic products.

I returned from Montreal late last night and I was pleased to see that retailers are marking the shelves with the Fleurs des Lys to help shoppers easily identify products made in Quebec.

The take away from the February 28th boycott is that consumers have power.

Use it!

We may not be able to avoid an economic downturn.

Hopefully we can avoid a global recession.

The bottom line is that, by turning up the heat, maybe Americans will think twice when they head to the polls for midterm elections.

🛍 What impact is the trade war having on your business and personal spending and decisions?

On Monday, U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to follow through on his economic threat against North American neighbours – his government plans to impose 25 p...

02/09/2025

📈 Connecting the Dots: Your Turn...A webinar and Mini-Mastermind 👩‍💻

If you are a corporate executive or entrepreneur, especially if you're based in Canada, there's a pressing need to be proactive.

Inaction and adopting a wait-and-see approach is no longer an option.

In a number if recent LinkedIn posts, our President, Anne Thornley-Brown, has highlighted:

◼️ the challenges Canadian and U.S. businesses are facing in view of looming tariffs
◼️ strategies to prepare for them by strengthening your customer base and supply chain.
◼️ specific tools to assist you design and implement your strategies

If you haven't seen her posts, please take time to check them out.

Check one of them out by the link on this post.

Check out another via the link in the comments.

Launched in 2003, the Executive Oasis International brand has helped clients from 19 countries survive, thrive, and grow even in the midst of turbulence.

👩🏽‍💻 If there is enough interest, Anne will facilitate a 90- minute mini-mastermind on February 14th or 15th.

Investment: $99.99

It will be customized for a maximum of SIX people so that we can devote quality time to addressing your specific challenges.

She will introduce specific tools that are relevant to your and we will work through them together.

Come prepared to give and receive leads.

If you're interested in participating, please send our President Anne Thornley-Brown a private message or let us know in the comments.

We'll send you a brief questionnaire and full details about how to get thecmist out of the mastermind.

You're welcome to participate even if you're not based in Canada.



If you're a corporate executive and you want to arrange a dedicated mastermind for your team, please pop me a private message.

We'll hop on a brief Zoom call and begin planning.

🎢 Connecting the Dots: Canada secures 30-day pause on tariffs threatened by Trump ⏸️ "President Donald Trump agreed to delay 25% tariffs on Canada and… | 56 comments on LinkedIn

02/02/2025

🇨🇦 Connecting the Dots: Trump Launches Trade war with Canada with Executive Orders Imposing 25% tariff on Canadian goods 📉

"President Donald Trump launched a trade war against Canada on Saturday by imposing a 25 per cent tariff on virtually all goods from this country — an unprecedented strike against a longstanding ally that has the potential to throw the economy into a tailspin.

Trump's long-threatened plan to inflict economic pain on Canada has materialized on the day he said it would, and it includes a 10 per cent tariff on Canadian energy products, according to a senior Canadian official who shared details of Trump's plan with CBC News."

"Experts have said trade action of this magnitude has the potential to shave billions of dollars off of Canada's gross domestic product (GDP) and plunge the country into a painful recession requiring government stimulus to prop up the economy.

Canada is expected to hit back later Saturday with retaliatory tariffs of its own to make Trump think twice about taking on his country's biggest customer."

SOURCE: CBC News

If Canada retaliates, an elevator clause will increase the across-the-board tariffs.

President Trump is playing chicken with the North American economy.

The short-term impact will be a 2.6% decline in Canada's GDP sending growth into negative territory and plunging Canada into a recession.

It's time for Canadian business leaders to:

📉Connect the Dots:

🔮 Scan the horizon for emerging trends, threats, and opportunities including new sources of revenue and new target markets: local and foreign
(My Connecting the Dots series will help)

🚘 Floor the marketing gas pedal

💼 Gather your team together and hold an Executive Briefing or town hall:
Pinpoint your team & organization's specific challenges.

💻 Engage remote team members via technology.

🧰 Equip your team with a shared toolkit for analysis, brainstorming, planning, and ex*****on.

🛠️ Tools:

📋 SWOT Analysis:
Pinpoint threats and opportunities and design strategy to deal with them.

📝 Flow Charts:
Identify process improvement opportunities.

🧑🏻‍🎨 Idea Chains/Mind Maps:
Brainstorm options.

📋 Force field analysis:
Assess the viability of your plan of action.

🎬 Storyboards:
Design presentation with recommendations.

📋 Supply Chain Mapping
Map out your current situation from supply chain to service/product delivery and identify new suppliers

A shift in supply chains could provide opportunities for:

🍊🧃 Jamaican and other Caribbean countries to supply citrus

🥜 African countries like southern Mali and adjacent regions of The Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal could be sources of peanuts.

⛓️ What are some other examples of other source countries of suppliers to replace products currently imported into Canada from the USA?

🛍️🛒What are some potential markets for Canada's products?

A statement by the White House on Saturday says U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China. The tariff order on...

12/09/2024

✨ Team Innovation: Notre Dame's Restoration... a 5 Year Team Effort 🇫🇷

"Notre-Dame is officially reopening more than five years after it was badly damaged in a fire.

We got our first look inside the cathedral since the refurbishment was completed when French President Emmanuel Macron toured the site last week

The Archbishop of Paris will then host a commemorative service followed by a live concert from 21:15 CET (20:15 GMT)."

SOURCE: BBC

It took 100 years to build Notre-Dame Cathedral.

It took the tireless work of 600 firefighters to extinguish the fires.

The 5 year restoration was a massive undertaking involving the painstaking labour by 2000 architects, designers, engineers, blacksmiths, and carpenters as well as craftsmen and artisans from a variety of disciplines.

"The eight bells of the north tower were also removed in 2023 – a massive operation given their size. They were cleaned and treated, and then returned a few weeks ago.

To rebuild the vaulted ceiling beneath where the spire had stood, masons had to relearn the principles of Gothic architecture – using a wooden frame to put the stones in place and crowning it all with the keystone."

"It was the wooden roof that burned – all 100 metres of it. None of the 800-year-old timbers survived. But the decision was quickly made to replace them as faithfully as possible – with oak from the forests of France.

By happy coincidence an architect called Remi Fromont had conducted an in-depth study of the timber frame as part of his university thesis. This served as a template for carpenters."

SOURCE: BBC

A star-studded congregation of royalty, 50 world leaders, and other dignitaries are in attendance at yesterday's service.

The service was not about the rich and famous.

It was a tribute to the over 600 firefighters and over 2000 professionals from a variety of disciplines who played a role in the restoration.

It's a celebration of the power of teamwork, innovation, and determination.



Here is the result which is nothing short of incredible.

The bells of the Paris’ famed Notre Dame Cathedral rang for the first time since a fire tore through the Gothic landmark five years ago and almost destroyed ...

11/24/2023

🛍️ Black Friday: Thrive even in a Recession!

Order our e-book today!

🍋 Lemons to Lemonade: Squeezing Opportunities out of Adversity When Business Goes Sour

https://bit.ly/lemons2lemonadeebook

Special Price: US$39.99
Regular Price US$79.99

BONUS: 2 1/2 hour masterclass

Tues Dec 5, 2023 7 - 9:30 PM EST



Expires Cyber Monday at 11:59 PM

05/03/2023

Our President, Anne Thornley-Brown, recently shared her SEO journey.

In this episode, Anne Thornley-Brown from executiveoasis.com shares with us why you should set aside a percentage from each business engagement for marketing

11/12/2022

🔮Team Building Trends for 2023 🗓

🎯 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 🌄

"The workplace is in the middle of an unusual collision between what bosses and workers want. Employees feel empowered after two years of changing their work habits and leverage gained in a tight labor market. Employers are under increasing pressure to cut costs and boost performance as inflation soars, markets plunge and a possible...recession looms."

Source: Wall Street Journal

🗞 Our 2023 Team Building Trends
report is hot off the press!

🥁 Drumroll! Here are my predictions for team building in 2023:

𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬

𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬

1. Team building that pays for itself.
2. Facilitated Outdoor Team Building Simulations.
3. Hybrid and virtual team building.
4. The gradual return of executive retreats.

𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐢𝐭𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬

Unfortunately, all trends aren't positive or conducive to building effective teams.

There continues to "flavor of the month" approach to team building by some corporate leaders.

5. Unclear objectives or NO objectives
6. Fun and games as a short-sighted replacement for team building.
7. Confusion: Believing a meeting + a corporate event = team building.

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧

🎉 Do any of these trends surprise you?

🔮 What are some other possible team building trends for 2023?

Check out the full report here:

https://bit.ly/2023teambuildingtrends




𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 🎬

10/30/2022

✨ Team Innovation: Team Building + Guerilla Marketing + Viral Video = A Winning Combination 🏆

🎯 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬

"The more provocative and unconventional your campaigns are, the better your brand awareness results will probably be."

- Forbes

A bike, a backpack, Coke, and a smile.

It's a perfect example of guerrilla marketing.

This specific guerilla marketing campaign took place in various countries over 8 years ago.

I am re-sharing it today because, well beyond the original event, the video lives on and promotes the product.

That's the power of guerrilla marketing combined with a viral video.

How does it work?

👨‍💻👩‍💼 Pull your team together.

🧰Introduce team members to a shared suite of tools for brainstorming, planning, and ex*****on through a business simulation.

📣 Issue the challenge.

💰 Give each team a budget

👨‍🎨Design and execute the event or initiative using the toolkit.

📏 Measure results.

Team building is an ideal vehicle to create guerrilla initiatives.

Not only will your team have a blast as they pick up new tools, strategies, and skills but team building will more than pay for itself by generating revenue.

My company's Visexecutaries team building simulation helps companies improve team effectiveness and boost their bottom line while working on guerilla marketing initiatives and other projects.

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧

🏝 🍹 Have you ever created or witnessed a guerilla marketing event?

💰 What do you think of a concept of team building that generates revenue?



Want to generate bottom-line results from your executive retreats and team building?

Pop us a private message and let's hop on a Zoom call to discuss how we can help your team achieve its objectives.

Coca-Cola Smile Back February 2012

07/27/2022

👨‍💻👨‍💼 Team Building Tips: Prepare to Future-Proof Your Business ☔

🎯 𝐓𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞: 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐬

Economic indicators are flashing "R" for recession.

It's the last thing we need on the heels of a pandemic which is still very much a wild card.

We all hope the predictions are wrong but...it's best to carry an umbrella if the forecast is for rain.

It's equally important for executives and entrepreneurs to prepare in case the global economy rains down more lemons.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐤 𝐢𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥

In the HBR article “Roaring Out of Recession:

"...during the recessions of 1980, 1990, and 2000, 17% of the 4,700 public companies they studied fared particularly badly: They went bankrupt, went private, or were acquired."

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐍𝐞𝐰𝐬

Did you know that 9% of businesses thrive after a recession and beat the performance of competitors by +10%?

Research by McKinsey and Bain revealed, in the top 10% of companies they studied, earnings climbed steadily during the 2008 economic downturn and continued to rise after.

The key success factor was preparation.

Companies that flourish:

- Develop Contingency Plans
- Design Alternative Scenarios
- Deleverage to Reduce Debt
- Decentralize Decision-making to Weather
Macroeconomic Shocks
- Invest in Digital Transformation

Source: How to Survive a Recession and Thrive Afterward (Harvard Business Review)

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧

📜 What lessons have you learned during
the pandemic and previous economic
downturns to help you thrive no matter
what the economy throws at you?



𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 🎬

Pull your team together to design and implement your strategy to future-proof your business.

Need a facilitator to help you?

Pop me a private message and let's hop on Zoom to get started.